ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on an empirical examination of the region's trading characteristics. It explores the position and place of eastern and southern African trade in the world economy. Africa is a marginal player in global trade. According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the whole continent accounts for just 2.1 per cent of all merchandise exports and 2.4 per cent of merchandise imports. The region of eastern and southern Africa into the existing regional groupings of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The chapter also focuses on Commodity protocols. The future of the commodity protocols under EPAs is also uncertain. The EU mandate is extremely vague and states that the banana, beef and sugar protocols will be reviewed in the context of the negotiation of economic partnership agreements. The chapter talks about Informal and unrecorded trade. Informal trade, as a component of intra-regional trade within eastern and southern Africa, is extremely significant.
